The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 73, No. 13, Ed. 1 Friday, November 1, 1985 Page: 4 of 32
thirty two pages : ill. ; page 20 x 14 in.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
DIALOGUE: A RICE EDUCATION
"Dialogue" is a series of
discussions designed to promote
awareness of specific significant
issues of our day. If you have a
reasoned viewpoint relevant to any
of the subjects discussed or an issue
that merits consideration, send it
to "Dialogue".
Education sows
seeds of greatness
In the inaugural ceremony, we
heard quite a bit about what it
means to have a Rice education.
For those of us who had recovered
from Pub on the Patio, the
solemnity of the occasion may
have moved us to consider the
meaning of our training here, and
even to broach the subject with a
friend or acquaintance. I'd like to
share some of my own reflections
with you, working on the
presumption that such reflections,
however stupid, are somehow
central to anything we do here.
Risking the crime of
generalization, I think it's fair to
say that people seeking a higher
education in the eighties, even
those in the humanities, are
seeking specialized skills that will
enable them to plug themselves
into the corporate organization
that is truly the backbone, it not
the flesh and blood, of our society.
To describe this organization in
terms of the animate, however,
creates an erroneous impression of
the world we live in. It is more
appropriate to use the analogy ol a
vast and highly complex machine,
in which people can only function
if they are engineered to certain
specifications.
Yes, 1 allude to the celebrated
cog analogy. And to an extent 1
accept it. But 1 believe that we, as
cogs, are nonetheless capable of
transcending our cog-ness. And it
is for this reason that 1 am
presumptuous. For as the sixties
BLOOM COUNTY
vision of a world beyond the
machine slowly evaporates from
memory, the spiritual aridity of
our time appears to us as so final
and monumental that we haven't
the courage to venture into that
desert and begin once again, as
educated men and women, to
cultivate the garden of civilization.
Instead, we are drawn to more
immediate concerns: material well-
being, comfort and amusement,
and ultimately, the luxury of
forgetting that we were ever
human beings. In short, we crave
cog-osity.
To quote the great non-quote of
the twentieth century, today, it
seems, as in Calvin Coolidge's
times, "the business of America is
business." I can't imagine a more
succinct way to trivialize what we
have accomplished as a culture. I
don't mean to slight the Jones
School, for certainly business, and
its sire, capitalist economy, are at
the heart of American culture, and
in some way realize the dearest of
Western ideals. But those who
engineered the present age, ads
many intellectuals of the past
century have pointed out, have left
something out of their design.
Their machine has no soul.
Relative to the past, certainly,
there is food, comfort, and luxury
in abundance. But where is man?
He's doing business. He is
committed to making his
abundance more voluptuous. And
in the meantime, he has forgotten
himself.
If 1 thought we were capable of
truly enjoying life in the machine, I
wouldn't change higher education
in the least. I would encourage the
dissolution, which seems
irrevocable, of academic
communities into the subsets of
liberal arts, sciences, engineering,
and business, rather than bind
them together with and
overarching commitment to the
service of humanity. 1 would balk
at the claims of history upon my
actions, and deafen myself to the
call of future generations.
But I believe true enjoyment
involves a vibrance of spirit and
fecundity of mind that can only
grow out of an intellectual
environment that unites
specialized skills with a
sophisticated understanding of
what it means to be human. For
that, to my mind, is the purpose of
higher education: to sow the seeds
of greatness — an aspiration for
truth and self knowledge, a desire
for and vision of a better world,
and a consequent need to realize
that vision through service — in
young people who are merely
smart.
— Scott Flukinger
Moral education
neglected at Rice
Without a major change its total
educational program, Rice has
lavishly celebrated and opened but
another mediocre chapter in its
history as a university. Such
change involves nothing less than
an emphasis on morality and the
spirituality of Rice students;
without these two elements
incorporated into the Rice
education of every student, the
school will remain just a good
school and nothing more. First,
however, the proper goals and
direction of higher educaiton in
general and specifically at Rice
need to be defined and clarified.
Education is more than just the
transmission of a culture, of
teaching men and women to be
technical with scientific abilities
and knowledge, of creating able-
leaders. Rice is a good university,
with the potential of becoming a
great one that could literally
change the world. Yet without
instilling moral values in the
students and educating students in
by Berke Breathed
t he management of this
feature, in conjunction
wm "3/6 pig peaches
presents we following
aerobics instruction
forthe public s Benefit.
a healthy anp fit comcs
reaper 15 a laughin6 anp
jwovs comics reaper,
some may wish to consult
a physician before
/tttempting these
exercises.
Que to numerous complaints
r56arping we lack of help-
ful aerobic information in
yestzrtmy'5 installment,
\ne non continue with
further valuable exercise
vps-
au. of us here at bloom
county really care
Aeour your bopy. truly.
you have no ipc a
A GOOP MY TO WtNP
UP YOUR *70 MINUTES
OF SPECIAL BLOOM COUNTY
AEROBICS IS TO 5PENP
AN HOUR OR TWO
PUMPING A LITTLE IRON..
CMON ' LET'S GET
PHYSICAL, FLABBY
COMICS READERS.'
OKEY'POKE-
LEFT FOREARM
BENPS'-HVP'
HUP' HUP'
HUP/
Professional coaching is always
a plus in serious aerobics.
■ % % go&o
liSS&Af'
...if weights aren't
available, almost anything
hefty will suffice.'
oh, you
are not
SERIOUS...
%
m-wfooukb /
HUP' HUP"
HUP' HUP'
ONE MORE-. HUP'
Long rests between zeroises
are not conpucfve to healthy
carp/0 -vaxu3ular whatever.
me up/
jumping jacks
oet goin'f h6y
\ ' / \ -
At the same time, work off
that post-aerobic tension with
a jaunty. brisk walk.'
V wr th£
thank you for jw/ing along /
PEACHES HAS SCHEPULEP THE
NEXT WORKOUT FOR TVESPAY,
april ?. ZO/H. SEE YOU THEN'
GOOP PlSCIPLINE IS ALWAYS A
MUST FOR PROPER AEROBICS
INSTRUCTION. LAZINESS IS A NO-NO1.
i satp (per gotn;
JH/mRdVTT/
Anp then remrp yourself with
a cucumber salap anp avocapo
yogurt..^fou reserve it, mr. healthy/
ONE MO-BOO
gUMR-HEAVY
GREASE/
&
spiritual issues, Rice will continue
to be only a good university.
There are many courses of
instruction at Rice that
academically and technically train
students. These studies are indeed
important for the development
and education of complete, mature
people. Yet at Rice, there are no
courses in the necessary training of
deciding between right and wrong,
of making moral choices. You will
say indignantly, "But Rice has
ethics courses to teach right and
wrong. I am an adult now, with my
morals already established and
there is no need to worry about
them any longer. Don't I learn
proper conduct in the residential
colleges, where I am among my
peers in real life situations every
day?"
True, the university should not
require students to take ethics
courses. Yet the university
interested in developing complete,
mature people capable of
positively affecting society must be
concerned with its students' moral
development. As it now stands, the
residential colleges do not reflect
or instill into students a morality
that can change the world.
Is this saying that there are
absolutes in moral choices,
-necessitating that situational
ethics are wrong? Yes. Rice must
graduate moral leaders into the
world, able to combat, and not
contribute to, such social evils as
sexual immorality, crime, divorce,
drug abuse, alcoholism. These
things are separating man from
man and are ripping society as a
whole and man as an individual
into useless shreds. For Rice to be
great, it must create in its students
the good life-long habits of
desiring what is right, searching for
what is right, and practicing what
is right.
In conjunction with this must be
the education of the spiritual side
of man. The plight of the modern
existential man is a void that he
feels, and he attempts to solve it in
one of two ways. He either
struggles with the void, searching
for the answer, or he attempts to
forget that he has a void, trying to
lull himself to sleep. He forgets his
real search for t -uth, and sinks into
himself, caring very little beyond
the extent of his own little world.
Obviously man needs therapy,
and this therapy must first begin
with a reminder of that very
painful void, that gap. After that,
man must clearly come to grips
with his need, recognizing that it is
not a material or physical need, but
is a spiritual aspect he is missing.
Rice is a good university which
serves a valuable purpose by
educating students in varied
scientific and academic disciplines.
Yet for the university to become
great, it must not only turn out
intelligent students but must also
turn out and help develop great
men and women. Such great men
and women come from a complete
education, which contains in it the
vital elements of moral and
spiritual education and training.
The next few years will show if
Rice will become great or will
remain merely good under the new
president.
— Dan Sullivan
HEDGING YOUR BETS/by Spencer Greene
Politics not duty of SA
I find myself at odds with the
general attitude expressed by
several Student Association
senators concerning the proposed
divestiture resolution.
The senators may of course pass
any resolution, including the
proposed one, by a simple vote.
Last week in these pages Steve
Phillips admonished them to do
just that and to fulfill the SA's
capacity as "the only body
representative of the students at
Rice University." Herein lies a
fundamental error: while the SA is
composed of elected representa-
tives, neither senators nor college
presidents win votes based on their
political views or their
demonstrated zeal for tilting at
windmills. Any divestiture
statement made by the SA should
therefore be in the form of an open
letter to the Board of Governors,
signed by those senators in
agreement with its contents and
not purporting to arise from a
general mandate of the students.
If the student body does actually
support the SA resolution, that
support can only be documented
through a referendum election, not
through the senators' vague
perception of student opinion.
Eduardo Gucrra pointed out in
last week's Threshing It Out that
divestiture would involve a
considerable cost to students; if
something as trivial as a $3 blanket
tax increase requires a referendum,
certainly an issue as emotional and
potentially expensive as
disinvestment deserves the same
respect.
In researching a September 24
article on faculty response to the
Board of Governors' action, 1 was
much impressed by the restraint
and caution shown by Rice faculty
members, traits which several SA
senators seem reluctant to
emulate. The professors of
political science, economics, and
history to whom I spoke either
declined comment or expressed
reservations about the difficulty of
the question. Stephen Klineberg,
perhaps the most outspoken of the
group, only went so far as to say
that this "may" be an appropriate
time for a political statement from
an educational institution. A few
weeks later Klineberg told the New
York Times that Rice students are
not "sophisticated" or "engaged"
— true, no doubt, in some cases,
but I would like to think that
others of us engage in a healthy
skepticism similar in some ways to
his own.
Last week Phillips wrote that
"divestiture is the only effective
means ... of directly influencing
South African policies." His
underlying assumption was that
such an influence would be
positive, an assertion which has
not yet, in my opinion, been
adequately proved. The SA's
decision to hold a public forum to
discuss such questions was
therefore a wise one. At least some
of the senators have realized that
the Student Association, which at
its best can serve as the collective
voice of the students, should not
aspire to be our collective
conscience.
The Rice Thresher, November 1, 1985, page 4
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Snyder, Scott. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 73, No. 13, Ed. 1 Friday, November 1, 1985, newspaper, November 1, 1985; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth245618/m1/4/: accessed May 21, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.